


A Certain Step Towards Falling in Love

by mochegato



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Christmas Miracles, F/M, Jason is an idiot, Jasonette, M/M, MariBat, Maribat Secret Santa, Mutual Pining, platonic timinette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28208508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochegato/pseuds/mochegato
Summary: Jason has fallen in love... with his brother's new girlfriend.  The more time he spends with her the more he falls and unfortunately, she seems to enjoy spending time with him just as much.  But things are not all as they seem and Jason is an idiot.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & TIm Drake, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Jason Todd
Comments: 13
Kudos: 257





	A Certain Step Towards Falling in Love

**Author's Note:**

> If I recall correctly, I think there is one curse word. But other than that, pretty innocent.  
> Written for the 2020 Maribat Secret Santa for Avis-amicum

Jason made his way to his reading spot in the gardens. It was a spot under a tree that fit his body perfectly when he leaned against it. There was a creek with a small waterfall flowing a few steps away producing a calming noise in the background as he read. It was his favorite spot in the entire manor and after a long night of fighting Scarecrow and his minions, and quite a number of bruises and cuts, Jason needed his escape.

He was almost there, he could hear the cascading water when he saw an uninvited person standing right next to his spot. He pulled out his gun, which normally he wouldn’t have, but the fight last night, and especially the gas Scarecrow had released, had lingering effects. Even if the drug was no longer in his system, the images he saw while it was still haunted him. He leveled the gun at the intruder’s head. “What are you doing here? Who let you in?” He growled at her.

Jason’s breath caught in his chest when she slowly turned around and faced him. Her eyes were wide with surprise at the interruption. Instead of turning to fear at the sight of the gun as he expected, her expression morphed to slight confusion before eyeing the gun with amusement. “I’m here with Tim.” She responded calmly.

Jason took the safety off the gun and scoffed at her. “There's no way.” She was easily one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Not that Tim hadn’t ever dated cute girls before, but this one threatened to take his breath away and Tim could never catch her. 

The woman quirked her head, looking at him curiously and flitting her eyes from the gun to him. Jason fought the urge to gasp as her bright, inquisitive blue eyes met his. After a few seconds, she nodded, coming to a conclusion. “You must be Jason.”

“What makes you say that?” He eyed her suspiciously, keeping his gun trained on her.

She smiled cheekily at him, “You're too old to be Damian. So you can't be the Hell Spawn, you must be the one that Hell spit out. Plus the gun. Tim said he didn’t know if Jason could actually function without one on his body somewhere, but nobody else in your family really likes them.”

Jason relaxed marginally. That sounded about right for Tim. Less insulting than he would expect, but she might be trying to soften the blow. There was still no way Tim landed someone as gorgeous and cool under pressure as her though. He studied her intently trying to look for any tells indicating she was lying or what her true intentions were, which was extremely annoying because he just wanted a little bit of peace so he could read.

She waited patiently for him to decide how he was going to react, or at least she tried to. But after a little over a minute of him staring at her like he was trying to elicit every secret she had from her appearance alone like some kind of New Jersey Sherlock, she got bored. “How about you relax the trigger finger a bit, big guy. You're about three times my size. You could probably crush me by laying one of your thighs on me if I made any moves toward you. ” She rolled her eyes at him. “You could put the gun away and just sit here with me until Tim comes back, or you know, call him and ask. Until then,” she sat down next to the waterfall and pulled out her sketchpad, “I’m going to sit here and sketch. You’re welcome to join me if you put the gun away.”

Jason watched her warily but put the safety back on his gun and tucked it back into his shoulder holster. He sat down slowly a short distance away from her, leaning against a tree in the shade. “This is _my_ spot, so _you_ can join _me_ if you promise not to attack me.” He scoffed at her. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

“Looking for inspiration.” She sighed, puckering her lips in thought. “Tim thought the gardens might help. I need to finish a few more designs for my class and I was a little low on inspiration.” She slid her eyes over to him and leaned toward him conspiratorially. “Personally, I think he wanted an excuse to get out of the city and eat some of Alfred’s food.” He nodded in understanding but didn’t respond. “And what are you doing out here?” she encouraged him.

“Reading,” he answered curtly.

She gave him an impish smile, “Is it about guns?”

He huffed out a quiet chuckle. “Jane Austen.” He held up the book for her to see.

“Huh.” She lightly bobbed her head back. Reading classic, romantic novels did not at all fit with the image of a brash, cold, judgmental, single minded brute that Tim had described. She tried to mesh the new fact with what Tim had told her but it didn’t fit. It was a piece from another puzzle she was trying to force in. She grinned to herself as she tried to picture _Red Hood_ quoting Shakespeare as he punched and kicked henchmen, curling up with a warm blanket to read Austen after a long night of beating bad guys. “Fan of classic Literature?”

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” He quoted to her, opening his book to reread the well-worn pages.

She hummed at him “It is from books that wise men derive consolation in the troubles of life.” She quoted back to him. “So there’s that too.” She shrugged.

He smiled back at her. “Hugo. I like him too. Hunchback is a favorite. I never did get your name.”

“You never asked for it.” She reminded him with a pointed look and an amused smile. “It’s Marinette. Do you come out here often to read?”

“Yeah, it’s peaceful out here. It gets me away from the chaos in the house so I can get lost in this instead.” He smiled at her before returning his gaze to his book.

She watched him as he read. A peaceful look overcame his features as he started reading. “What do you like about it?”

He looked at her for a few moments trying to put his admiration into words. He stared at the waterfall as he spoke. “Timeless themes beautifully told. It doesn’t matter if it is the 1700’s, 1800’s, or today. It still resonates. The details might change but the structure, the emotion, the effect is still there. There’s also strength in ways you don’t expect. Power hidden in softness.”

Marinette watched at him with increasing interest as he spoke. When he was done, she looked over at the waterfall as well, staring absentmindedly at it as things started clicking and cascading in her mind. After a few seconds she looked back up with an inspired glint in her eyes. She started drawing in a flurry, page after page of drawings and notes. Jason watched her with interest as she was enveloped in an inspirational haze.

Sometime later, Tim found them. Marinette hadn’t thought it had been that long since he had left but when she looked up the sun was a lot lower in the sky and the shadows a lot longer. “Hey, there you are. You’re still out here… and with Jason…” He looked between the two of them, a confused frown on his face. He gave Marinette a pointed look, asking if she was okay.

Marinette giggled at him. “I’m fine, Tim. Jason was keeping me company.” Tim eyed Jason suspiciously. 

Jason rolled his eyes and closed his book. “She’s fine, jackass. I didn’t hurt your precious girlfriend.”

“Like she would let you.” Tim scoffed at him. He turned to Marinette with a serious expression. “Sorry to cut the visit home short, but we have somewhere we need to be. We’re going to be late if we don’t move now.”

Marinette turned toward Jason giving him a bright smile. “It was really nice meeting you, Jason. Very inspirational.” She added with a secretive smile. “I hope to see you soon.” Jason gave her a small wave and watched her grab onto Tim’s arm as they whispered animatedly back and forth. They had disappeared into the house before he realized his hand was still raised in a wave.

Over the next few months, that became their pattern. Tim would bring Marinette with him whenever he came home. Sometimes other friends would come as well, but always Marinette. It was like he didn’t want to go anywhere without her, which Jason couldn’t blame him for. And he visited the manor more often lately, which meant Marinette was there almost as frequently as any of the children. Subconsciously, Jason found himself drawn to the manor more often as well. 

While Tim was on a call or wanted to be alone with Kon, presumably to discuss Young Justice business that he didn’t want Marinette to know about Jason supposed, Jason and Marinette would spend time together. He would find her sketching in the garden or she would walk in on him reading in the library. They would talk and laugh for hours while Tim finished whatever he was working on, or they would sit in peaceful silence while she sketched and he read, or they would watch a movie together, frequently invading each other’s space, perhaps a bit more than was appropriate with his brother’s girlfriend. It wasn’t that they sought to end up that way, they just always seemed to naturally migrate closer.

Luckily for Jason, it seemed like Tim was constantly too busy to spend time with Marinette, which Jason definitely couldn’t understand. Tim would bring Marinette to his home and then abandon her. He couldn’t understand not wanting to spend as much time with Marinette as possible. If he was dating her instead, that’s exactly what he would do. Spending time with her made him feel lighter, happier, both electrified and at peace at the same time. Watching her in a fit of inspiration was breathtaking, just like everything about her. Each moment he got to spend with her was the highlight of his world until the next moment with her.

But each time ended the same, with Tim taking her away with him. He would come in, let her know they had to leave, and she would dutifully get up and leave with him, no questions asked, no looking back. Her whole demeanor would change and she would rush after him like something was on fire. Leaving Jason with little more than a parting smile and a wave.

<><><><><>

There was almost nothing about tonight that Jason was looking forward to. Instead of a quiet day at home enjoying the Christmas atmosphere, alone, their home had been overtaken by a fatuous gala. On a good day the galas were dreary at best. But galas were never on a good day. They were filled with business people trying to pimp out their children to any of the Wayne children they could corner, vapid conversations, fake interests and concerns, and not nearly enough alcohol. 

Tonight promised to be worse than most. Tim would be coming with a few friends including Marinette. It was almost guaranteed he would be spending the night with her in his arms, holding her close as they danced, stealing intimate moments and kisses under the mistletoe. The very idea made Jason feel the need to get a head start on his much desired inebriation. He would have skipped the gala all together but he wanted to see Marinette. She was so excited to show him her dress and he didn’t want to let her down.

Jason paused mid drink, his arm halfway to his mouth, when Marinette walked into the room. As expected, she was on Tim’s arm. She was sandwiched between him and Cassie in a line of Tim’s friends, specifically Young Justice members, but she didn’t know that. Tim leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear that caused her to blush as dark as her blood red dress and glance furtively around the room. Jason downed the rest of his drink and looked away. He was going to need more liquor to deal with the night.

Despite his resolve to ignore Marinette, his eyes kept finding her around the room and on the dancefloor with their brothers or Tim’s friends. It wasn’t his fault his eyes kept drifting back to her, he insisted to himself. As if she wasn’t gorgeous enough to draw all eyes to her already, her dress stood out against the backdrop of dark outfits. Instead of the severe, drab dresses the rest of the crowd seemed to prefer, her dress was bright, romantic, and strong at the same time. The flowy, delicate fabric was held in under the bust by leather like fabric that wound around the shoulders as well. It almost reminded him of a shoulder holster. As softly elegant as the dress looked, a gun hanging off the holster wouldn’t look out of place at all.

She looked heart wrenchingly, breathtakingly beautiful. Jason grudgingly turned away again to down his latest drink. Of all the things Tim took from him, this one hurt the most. He knew logically Tim hadn’t taken anything from him, not Robin, not Bruce, not Dick, and definitely not Marinette, she had never been his to begin with, but that didn’t lessen the anger and frustration. It didn’t make him resent Tim less.

Eventually, he couldn’t avoid her anymore. After a dance with Dick, he walked Marinette off the floor and over to where Jason had been sequestering himself from the party, but mostly from her. Dick gave a thinly veiled excuse and made his way away. Jason looked at Marinette uncertainly. “Would you like to dance?” He finally asked awkwardly. Friends dance, right? She had danced with all of Tim’s friends. One dance and he would leave. One chance to hold her and he would leave her alone, say goodbye to his infatuation.

She gave him a relieved smile. “I would love to.” She slid her hand into his and pulled him toward the floor. She slid her hands down his lapels and gently tugged on the coat as if to get it to sit on him correctly. She settled her hands on his shoulders and looked back up at him with a soft, sweet smile on her lips. “You look extremely handsome tonight. I mean, you do every day, but especially tonight. You look very dapper.”

“Dapper, huh?” He smiled cheekily. She looked down trying to hide her blush. “Well you look absolutely gorgeous.” He added, making her blush even harder. “You did an incredible job on the dress.” 

“Thank you. It is one of the dresses that first trip to the manor inspired, when we first met.” She looked up at him nervously through her bangs. “You really like it?”

“It’s amazing. You look like a badass Austen heroine.” He gushed.

She giggled and gave him a brilliant smile. “Good. It was meant to.”

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “I thought it was inspired by your trip to the manor.”

“It was. Timeless structures modernized them by changing a few details. A mix of structure and strength with softness and romanticism. I focused on the Georgian period, the period Jane Austen wrote in, with a little bit of modern vigilante influence for the color choice.” She looked up at him with shining eyes. “Red Hood is my favorite.”

He lost his breath at her admission. He opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what and his brain was apparently no longer functioning. He was saved by the song ending. They pulled apart slightly, still looking in each other’s eyes. The next song started up and the couples around them started dancing again. “Would you like to dance again?” She asked bashfully.

He wanted to say no, being that close to her and knowing he can’t touch her more delicately, more lovingly, hurt. Holding her and knowing she wasn’t his to have, hurt. She suddenly looked shy and took a step back, “You don’t like dancing, that’s right. I forgot. It’s okay. Thank you for this one.” 

“No,” he exclaimed a little too loudly. “No,” he said more quietly, gently pulling her back toward him. “I’d love to dance with you again. However long you want me.” He added more honestly than he intended.

She gave him another brilliant smile and slid her hands around his shoulders. He settled his hands just above her waist and stopped his imagination from pretending it meant more to her. He fought his arm muscles that twitched to pull her closer, that pulsed to wrap around her body and hold her flush to him.

The second song melded into a third and soon it was the fifth song they had danced together continuously. She was laying her head on his shoulder as they swayed together. It was honestly the best date he had ever been on and it wasn’t even a date. She was just having fun with a friend while Tim… Jason wasn’t sure what Tim was doing instead of dancing with Marinette. He was crazy to pass up the chance to hold Marinette like only he could. 

Jason looked softly at Marinette as they moved as one. Her eyes were closed and some of her hair had fallen onto her face. He gently brushed the hair behind her ear, his fingers lingered on her jaw. Her breath hitched and she looked up at him with wide, bright eyes. Jason felt himself leaning down to her, being pulled toward her like he was under a spell. The only thing in the room was him and her. The only thing that mattered was him and her.

But suddenly they were not alone. The sound of laughter shook him out of his trance, Tim’s laugh. He could hear Tim’s laugh, loud and joyful from just a little bit away. Marinette looked at him in confusion as Jason pulled away from her. He grimaced and set a resolute look on his face. He couldn’t do this to Tim. He couldn’t betray him like this. “I need a drink. You should check on Tim.” He remarked bitterly. He walked away without looking back, missing the hurt and confused look on Marinette’s face.

Jason grabbed a drink and then another and made his way away from the party. He was no longer in the mood to be around people. His shoulder still burned from where she had laid her head on it. His lips throbbed from where she almost kissed him. He just wanted to drink until he couldn’t remember her. He groaned as he passed a couple making out in the hallway. “Hey assholes, this part of the house is off limits. Now, piss off.”

“Yeah, I’m aware, jackass.” One of the couple responded in a familiar voice.

Jason whirled around, spilling both drinks in the process, to find Tim and Kon in each other’s embrace. Jason moved before he even processed what was going on. He dropped the drinks and threw Tim up against the wall, his forearm on his throat.

“Hey, what the Hell?” Tim croaked out. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re cheating on Marinette, you fucker.” Jason growled at him, pushing his forearm harder against his throat.

Instead of looking guilty, Tim stared at him incredulously. Kon started laughing behind Jason causing him to let go of Tim and round on Kon. As soon as he got his breath back Tim started laughing too. “You think… you think I’m dating Marinette?” Jason turned to glare at him. Tim suddenly stopped laughing, his eyes widening in realization. “Oh my God, you thought I was dating Marinette. That explains so much.”

“Of course I thought you were dating her. I called her your girlfriend and you didn’t correct me. You always brought her with you whenever you came home. You guys are always touching and hugging when you’re together.” Jason hissed at him.

“You’re such a total and utter idiot. Do you _ever_ listen to a single word I say?” He didn’t bother waiting for Jason to reply before he continued on. “She’s the newest member of Young Justice, you moron. And I _hug_ her a lot because we’re friends and she gets stressed and a hug helps her relax. All of us do it… except you. Guess we know why now.” He rolled his eyes at Jason. “Seriously, we always came and left through the Zeta tubes. How did you never notice that?”

Tim shook his head as Jason tried to process the new information. Kon made his way over to him and wound his arms around Tim’s waist. “And I always brought her with me so you two could hang out. For some unknown, incomprehensible reason she likes your dumb ass and wanted to spend more time with you.”

“If she’s a part of Young Justice, why didn’t you want her around when you and Kon were talking?” He looked down at Kon’s arms around Tim’s waist and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, right. Got it. Don’t answer that.”

“So if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to continue kissing my boyfriend now. Feel free to find Marinette and do the same.”

“What makes you so sure she’d be interested?” Jason griped.

“Are you serious? Tell me you’re not serious.” Kon shook his head and buried it in Tim’s shoulder to stifle the laughter. “I thought Wally was dense.”

“Fine, don’t believe us. Pull on your big boy pants and go ask her yourself. She went for a walk in the garden, I think.” Tim dismissed him, pulling Kon back toward the party. “Unless you’re too much of a coward.” Tim called over his shoulder.

Jason watched them leave, not really paying attention. Marinette liked him. She wasn’t dating Tim. Did that mean she had meant all the comments and possibly less than innocent touches they had had over the last few months? Did it mean she had wanted to kiss him too? He needed to find her and see if Tim was right. He needed to see her, talk to her, touch her, maybe kiss her, if she wanted him to. _Still_ wanted him to?

He rushed out of the manor into the gardens searching for her red dress against the white of the light dusting of snow that had fallen that morning. He finally found her at the waterfall. “Here you are.” He said eagerly. He groaned at himself. Not the romantic introduction he had hoped for. It came out more accusatory than relieved.

She hummed noncommittally, a glum focus on her face. “I needed to take a break from the crowd for a little bit. It was a lot.”

He nodded tentatively. “Yeah. I usually would’ve already left by now. In fact I did after… after I left you.” He cringed thinking about how he left her on the floor. He looked at her as she stood there, bathed in moonlight. The moon reflecting off her hair and showing through the overlay on her dress making it shimmer. The feather light fabric was rippling magically in the slight breeze. She looked mystical, like she didn’t belong to this world. And really, that wasn’t far from the truth.

But, her posture and expression didn’t match. She stood stiffly, like she was on guard and her expression looked so sorrowful. He didn’t know if he would make it better or worse by asking her. What if it just made everything worse? “Did you want me to leave you alone?” He asked instead. She looked up at him surprised. “You said you wanted a break. I didn’t want to intrude if you wanted time alone. I don’t want to make things worse than I already have.”

“No,” she said quickly, a little too loudly. She looked chagrinned and turned back to face the waterfall. “You’re not intruding. I like having you around.” She added quietly.

He moved slowly until he was standing just behind her, staring at the frozen waterfall as well. They stood in silence for a few moments. “This is where we first met.” He noted quietly.

She smiles nostalgically. “Yeah.” She chuckled lightly. “You don’t have a gun this time do you?” He grimaced slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh my God, you do!” she exclaimed with a laugh.

“You don’t understand how many times one of these things has been attacked by a rogue.” He defended himself petulantly. He looked back to the waterfall, “And you were coming this time.”

She looked at him with wide eyes, her face morphing into a conflicted, confused look. He looked over and noticed she was shivering. “You’re freezing. Here.” He took off his suit coat and gently placed it around her shoulders. He chuckled affectionately at the sight of her in _his_ coat and how large it was on her. The coat went all the way down to her knees. She pouted at him as she slid her arms into the coat. 

He ran his hands up and down the arms of the coat, trying to warm her up. When she finally stopped shivering, he moved his hands up and fixed the collar of his coat, letting his hands linger on the collar. He looked her in the eyes gauging her response as he slowly ran his hands up her neck until they were cupping her face. He slowly ran his thumb along her jaw line. Her breath hitched and her body tensed again. “You're not dating Tim.” He stated relieved, the fact finally settling in his head, despite having seen evidence earlier, seeing her response to him confirmed it for him.

“No...” she answered taken aback. “Did you think I was?”

“I..." he faltered unable to look away from her wide blue eyes. Music from the gala drifted out to them. A wide grin spread across his lips. “Can I have this dance?”

She gave him an uncertain look but nodded. He settled his hands on her waist as she carefully placed hers on his shoulders, still not certain what was going on. He had left her on the dancefloor just a few minutes ago with a cutting comment. Now he was acting loving again. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

“I didn’t think you liked dancing.” She commented cautiously. “You didn’t seem too happy about dancing earlier.”

He stared into her eyes quickly getting lost in them. “To be fond of dancing is a certain step towards falling in love,” he quoted quietly.

Marinette froze, followed quickly by Jason once he realized what he had said. Jason started panicking. Damn it, he went too far too fast. He shouldn’t have mentioned ‘love’. Even if Tim and Kon had been right and she did like him, that didn’t mean she had already fallen in love.

Marinette pulled away from him slightly. She looked up at him with wide eyes and pink cheeks. “What?”

Jason searched for words to use. He was smart damn it, he should be able to talk his way out of this. Why wasn’t he able to talk his way out of this? Why couldn’t he find the words to downplay how he felt? “I… it’s a quote….”

“Did you mean it?” She asked tentatively.

“I…” now was the time. Now was the time to say ‘no,’ to say it was just a quote. “Yes.” DAMN IT he cursed to himself. Not what he wanted to say.

“You love me?” The surprise was clear in her voice.

He sighed and dropped his head. It was out there. He might was well embrace it. It wasn’t like he could go back to the way things were before he knew, and he didn’t want to anyway. “I do.” He confirmed. He gently caressed her cheek with his knuckles, looking adoringly in her eyes, “My heart is and always will be… yours.” He quoted again.

She gave him a brilliant, relieved, ecstatic smile, as puzzle pieces of strange comments and bizarre behavior suddenly fit together in her mind. Her eyes narrowed at him in mock suspicion. “That’s another quote isn’t it?” He nodded sheepishly. She laughed lightly at him, smiling impossibly brighter. “God you’re a dork and I love you for it.”

His eyes widened at her. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah. For so many reasons, that’s just one of them.”

He hugged her closer as he leaned down toward her. She pushed up on her toes and met his lips halfway. He kissed her gently, tenderly, relishing the feel of her lips and the way it felt like lightening running through his veins. Reveling in the knowledge he was allowed to hold her like this, that she wanted him to, that she felt it too. She angled her head to deepen the kiss. He readily responded, transforming the kiss more passionate and hungry.

They broke the kiss when they heard a cheer come from the manor. They looked over to see Dick, Tim, Kon, and the rest of Young Justice applauding them. “Fucking finally!” Kon yelled, grinning widely. “Now maybe she’ll stop pining and he’ll stop brooding.” Tim added in mock annoyance. “It’s a Christmas miracle.” Dick yelled at them with a smile. He raised a champagne glass to them with a smile and ushered everyone back into the manor.

“You really didn’t know? I can’t believe you thought I was dating him.” She shook her head at him with an amused smile. “I thought you just weren’t interested in me that way.”

“I wouldn’t have wasted all this time not touching or kissing you if I’d known.” He groused.

“Guess we’ll have to make up for lost time.” She smiled at him and pulled him down for an eager, passionate kiss.


End file.
